Lunch Dates and Sneakoscopes
by Joeygirl1994
Summary: One-shot: Connected to my stroy Try, Tri Again, but can be read on it's own. Part-Veela, Victoire Weasley's not used to being awkward around guys, but her best friend from childhood, Teddy Lupin, seems to have turned into the one exception.


A/N: Hey so this story ties into **chapter 8 (Tug-O-War)** of my story _**Try, Tri Again**_. **You don't need** to have read **my story** **to understand** this little one-shot, but if you want to, feel free. It will definitely help you understand my characterization of the characters.

Seeing as this is based on my other story, you might find the characterization of the people mentioned a little strong for a one-shot but I hope you like it.

If you _**have**_ read _**Try, Tri Again (TTA)**_, and you also like this one-shot, I'd love to hear from you and know if you'd like a couple other little one-shots that would have occured _**pre-TTA.**_ This story may seem a little repetitive to those of you who've read **TTA**, but that's just because I wanted to make it able for other poeple to understand my (rather extensive as you all know) backgrounds and characterizations. This is a much more detailed account of one of the **flash backs mentioned during Victorie and Ally's girtalk** (with _Xavier present_ of course).

Anyway, read on :)

Disclaimer: I do not own the fabulos Harry Potter frenchise :(

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Lunch Dates and Sneakoscopes

"C'mon Vic . . . right this way . . ." Uncle Ron said leading the way into the Atrium of the Ministry.

I had to stifle a laugh because as he was walking beside me, Uncle Harry rolled his eyes at the exaggerated attitude his brother-in-law was using. I know that Uncle Ron was excited to show me into the Ministry, but his enthusiasm also worries me a little. It almost seems like he's forgotten the fact that I've been visiting the Ministry since before I could walk.

I shook off my thoughts and memories of my earliest visits to the Ministry as we came across the 'Visitor's Sign-In' desk. The eyes of the, bored looking thirty-something, woman who saw sitting behind the large desk snapped up as she heard the sounds of our feet on the polished marble floor.

"Good day Auror Weasley, Auror Potter," the woman said as she plastered a fake-smile onto her face as she beamed up at my uncles.

I wanted to roll my eyes at her bubble-headedness but I abstained. After seventeen-years of bearing the last name Weasley, I was accustomed to getting differential treatment from people, but it is nothing compared to the way people treat my Uncle Ron and Uncle Harry.

"Hello Miriam, how are you?" Uncle Ron asked pleasantly.

"I'm very well thank-you. Is there something I can get for you? Does one of you need a temporary badge to get up to the Auror Office?"

Both Ron and Harry shook their heads. "No, but we do need a visitor's badge for our niece here," Harry said waving his hand in my direction.

Miriam's eyes flickered to me to study me. She looked me up and down several times, an emotion that I thought looked very close to jealousy flickered into her eyes for a minute before it disappeared. After which, she gave me a fake bright smile, "Of course . . . and your name is?"

I placed a, hopefully civil, looking smile on my face before answering, "Victoire Weasley."

The woman nodded at me. She was now looking down a piece of parchment, "And what department are you visiting today?"

"The Auror Office," I said trying not to snap at her. Where did she think I was going with both of my Auror Uncles?

I noticed her lips pressing together before she asked me the next question, it wasn't normal for civilians to go up to the Auror Office, she didn't say anything about it though. But that was probably only because I was accompanied by my Uncles. Instead, she asked, "And what is your business there?"

I opened my mouth to tell her that it was 'none-of-her-damn-bubble-headded-business-and-that-if-she-didn't-give-me-my-badge-soon-that-I-was-going-to-hex-her', when Uncle Harry smoothly intervened. Both him and Uncle Ron could tell by one glance at my face that I was about to lose my (admittedly rather short) temper, with this exasperating, nosey, and judgemental woman.

"Lunch date," Harry answered her easily and held out his hand for my badge.

She looked up confused but had to hand the badge into his awaiting hand. After Harry's fingers had clasped around it, both my uncles courteously took one of my arms and escorted me through the rest of the Atrium and into one of the brass and glass lifts.

Luckily, we were the only ones in the lift. When I noticed this, I gently shook off their arms and accepted the shiny gold-coloured badge from Uncle Harry. Etched upon the surface were the words: _Veektorie Weasley- Lunch Date_. I rolled my eyes at the spelling mistake.

"It's closer than some other tries I've seen," Uncle Ron commented lightly as he read the badge in my hand. I sighed quietly, how hard is it to _ask _me how to spell my name? For that matter, how hard would it have been for my parents to name me something close to normal? I mean, my younger sister's name is Dominique and my younger brother's name is Louis. They're both French names like Mamma wanted, but _they're_ easy to spell.

"Victoire, now remember that this trip is very sudden . . . you might not be able to see him for very long because he's not expecting you. He'll also be very busy," Uncle Harry was reminding me.

I nodded my head. I know he was busy. That's the whole reason I was here right now. We hadn't really seen each other at all since I came home from Hogwarts this summer. He was there when I got of the Hogwarts Express of course, but that's really the only time I was able to see him; that was almost two weeks ago. Today we had arranged to meet in Diagon Alley and have lunch together, just to catch up, ya' know? But he owled me at least minute to tell me that he wouldn't be able to show and that he was sorry. Well, my Weasley determination and I wouldn't take that for an excuse. So I coerced my Uncle Ron and Uncle Harry to take me to the Ministry and then bring me up to the Auror Office so that I could at least get to see him.

"I know Uncle Harry, I promise not to distract him from his work. I just want to say 'hi'."

Harry smiled indulgently at me. It was a look I get a lot from my family, seeing, as I'm the eldest of what they refer to as the 'Next generation', I usually get everything I want. And in this case, I was happy for it. I really missed him.

Harry and Ron chattered quietly about a case they were working on at work (not divulging important details like names or locations though) as the lift continued to rise to the right floor. Surprisingly we didn't have to stop at any other floors to let people on, so we got to the Auror Office very fast. As soon as we entered the Office, someone called Ron's attention and he had to say a quick good-bye to me before leaving. Uncle Harry on the other hand put his hand on my lower back and guided me through the maze of offices and desks to the other side of the room. My gaze flickered around the room as we travelled. I recognized a few of the Aurors that worked with my uncles whom I'd met before. Those, along with the other Aurors I didn't exactly recognize, ranged in age between what must have been sixty to late twenties. I noticed that there wasn't anyone younger than that, and concluded that all of the younger Aurors-in-training must have been somewhere else doing a training exercise. Another thing I noticed, was that as we walked Uncle Harry's arm were periodically tighten around me and then loosen after we'd walked a little farther along the office.

One of said times, I turned to see what he was looking at when it happened. He was glaring at a brown haired Auror who looked to be about twenty-seven years of age. I inspected the Auror more closely and saw that he was unabashedly checking me out. I rolled my eyes at the man, and then patted Harry reassuredly on the arm. He turned to look at me instead and blushed a little self-consciously, but he continued to hurry me along.

I smiled to myself. All of my uncles were very protective of me. It has a little to do with the fact that I was their first niece, and a lot more to do with that fact that I'm part Veela. I take after my Mamma with the long silvery-blonde hair, tall thin stature, slivery skin, and wide ocean-blue eyes fringed by long black lashes. The only difference between myself, and how my Mamma looked when she was my age, was the small smattering of golden freckles along my nose. I noticed that all the males in family have started to become more protective since I'm about to begin my last year of Hogwarts, and since my seventeenth birthday is almost a week away.

Our trip finished as we stopped in front of a large polished oak door. I knew that this was his office without having to even read the plaque on it. The shiny gold lettering read; _Kingsley Shacklebolt; Head of the Auror Office._

I knocked on the door. No answer. Harry knocked on the door. Still no answer. I shrugged my shoulders and opened it. It was empty.

Uncle Harry sighed and I looked up at him with puppy-dog-eyes.

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Fine Vic. You can wait in here until he comes . . . just be careful and don't touch any of his reports. I have to go to my office for a minute. I'll be right back."

I nodded and walked into the room, closing the door behind me. His office looked exactly the same since the last time I was in it. Which had to have been at least more than a year ago by now. I walked up to his large, dark coloured oak desk, which was the centrepiece of the room. It was dotted and decorated with a multitude of items. But they were all in their specific place, so even though it was rather cluttered, it was still organized. Sometimes I don't know how he can do that. Personally, all of my things are either organized, or messy, there's no real in-between for me. To the right of his desk were reports and other important looking pieces and scrolls of parchment. Also on that side were inkwells, at least eight different types of quills, and even some Muggle writing utensils called pens and pencils. On the left side of his desk was what I would term the 'Personal' side. It was full of picture frames. I smiled as I saw these and turned them around to look at them. The majority of them had him and me in them. The one closest to me showed a picture of myself as a newborn baby in Kingsley's arms; he had the widest smile on his face. Even though I couldn't remember it, I knew what that day was. That was the day that my parents asked him to be my godfather. He said yes; I could tell by the look on his face that I'd had him wrapped around my finger ever since I was born. There were a few other pictures of him and me over the years. Birthdays and things like that. He had one or two photos of the people he worked with and a few with his sister and brother. But the majority of them showed him with us Weasleys and the Potters. And even more showed him and just me. I glanced through the photos until I found one that made me grin like a fool. It was one of the largest photos, in a gold gilded frame. I picked it up to get a better look at it. This one I _did _remember. It was a picture of him and I standing next to the Hogwarts Express. Well, he was standing, I was being held up by him, my arms were around his neck as I hugged him good-bye. It was my first year at Hogwarts. He had come to see me off, as he has every single year since then.

"Hey good-lookin'."

I froze for a second with the picture frame in my hands. I recognized that voice. Crap.

I attempted to turn around to see the person, but at the same time, I attempted to put the picture frame back down on the desk. Not a smart move. I was able to place the frame in an upright position, but as I whirled around, my arm (which was still out from setting the picture down) swept across Kingsley's desk. Over turning other pictures and sending a _sneakoscope_ flying through the air until it smashed against the closest wall.

"Bloody hell!" I exclaimed before moving over to the wall and kneeling next to it. I pushed all the pieces together in a little pile and bit my lip.

The person who had spoken before now walked all the way into the room and knelt on the floor next to me.

"Here, let me fix it," he said calmly taking out his wand. He knew that I wouldn't be able to fix it because I wasn't allowed to do magic out of school until my seventeenth birthday. Not that I hadn't broken that rule more times than I could count over the years, but since I _was_ in the Ministry right now, I should probably _not_ break the rules this time. I nodded at him thankfully, but didn't speak.

He tried a wordless _Reparo_ spell. It didn't work. The nest time he said it aloud, it still didn't work. He frowned. His eyes were still on the broken pieces when he addressed me thusly, "Could you try to find some spell-o tape in his desk drawer please?"

I nodded again and got up quickly. I opened the first drawer on the desk, pulled out a role, and tossed it to him. He didn't take any out, but tried a few more incantations. I stayed where I was so that I could watch him without him being able to see me. It was the first time that I'd let my eyes rest on him, for longer than a second, since he'd came into the room.

His tall and muscular stature was covered by a normal looking pair of blue jeans and a plain, dark green, v-neck tee shirt instead of his normal Auror robes. The only thing that told me that he was actually working today was the gold coloured badge pinned to the chest of his shirt. I wasn't close enough to read it, but I knew that the badge would state his name, and that he was a Second-Level-Auror-in-Training. When I was able to peel my eyes away from his body (I had just realized how very nicely his string arms looked in his tee shirt), I looked at his face and smiled; happy to see that it was the one I had memorized. That sounds odd, but it was true. Being what he was, I wasn't always sure of what he was going to look like. But _this_ face I would have easily recognized. It was his natural face; pale skinned and heart shaped, with strong defined facial features. His shaggy hair was his (and secretly my) favourite shade of turquoise blue, and his eyes were wide and an amazing dark sapphire blue colour.

It took me a minute to realize that said remarkable blue eyes were currently staring into mine. I felt the need to blush and turned my head away. Being a Veela of course, I didn't blush, but I didn't need too. If I had stayed facing him, he would have been able to read my facial expression like a book. And that would have been extremely awkward, seeing as he doesn't know _exactly_ how I feel about him.

"Vic . . . this isn't working," he said to me as he stood up and came walked over to join me at the desk. His hands were full of the pieces of the shattered sneakoscope.

I took one minute to compose my face as I thought back to our dilemma; I had been distracted by it for a minute when I was studying him.

He stood right next to me and placed the pieces on the desk, "What do you think we should do?"

I looked at Teddy Lupin and forced myself not to get lost into his eyes again, "Umm, I don't know . . . wait for Kingsley to get back and see if he can fix it?"

Teddy smiled at me, "Okay . . . is that what you're for here anyway? To see Kingsley?"

I nodded, not feeling the need to explain anymore than that. Teddy has known my family and I ever since he was born, he knows that Kingsley's my godfather. But speaking of what we're doing here . . .

"What are you doing here?" I asked him trying not to sound awkward or rude. It's not that I didn't want to see him. I really enjoy _seeing _him. Talking to him is harder though.

"Ron told me you were here and I thought I'd stop by and say 'hi'," he said in a somewhat defensive tone as he frowned at me.

Damn, he'd heard the slight hostility that had leaked into my voice. I know he was confused at my reluctance to talk to him, after all this was just a short incident in a lengthy line of odd things I'd done around him since I came back from Hogwarts. The list wasn't _that _long though, seeing as I've been trying to avoid him as much as possible ever since I realized that I fancied him about two months ago when he came to Hogwarts to see me win the Quidditch House Cup for Gryffindor.

Speaking of me and my attempts to avoid him, I need to make a mental note-to-self and hex Uncle Ron the next time I see him for telling Teddy about my current whereabouts.

"'Kay . . . well hi," I said taking my eyes off him again. I really didn't know what to say. Talking to him used to be so easy when we were just best friends. But now that I know I like him, I can never figure out what to say to him. Not that he knows I fancy him, he still thinks that I think of him as a best friend and a pseudo-cousin.

"Hi . . . so how have you been. I haven't been able to see you in a while."

He was trying to engage me in conversation. He must have been more upset about my lack of sparkling wit and conversation in my last few responses. I knew that a more detailed answer like 'Yeah that's because I've been avoiding you so that I don't just randomly blurt out that I'm in love with you' wasn't really the smartest move.

So I tried to inject some careful cheer and naivety into my voice, "I've been well. Nothing much has really gone on, it's only been about a week since school's been out after all."

He raised an eyebrow at me quizzically. He knew that I wasn't being sincere in my explanation. Damn him for knowing me so well. It would be easier to act normal around him if he weren't so able to call me on it.

"I would have thought that you would have been busy trying to arrange stuff for your birthday. It is your coming of age one and all," Teddy said with a slight smile on his face.

I smiled back genuinely for the first time in our conversation. I knew he was referring back to the talk I had given _him_ two years ago when the days were fast approaching his seventeenth birthday. It was the day before his party and he had almost nothing arranged. I had scolded him for a good half-hour on preparation and planning before helping him arrange things. Now that I think of it, he probably waited last minute to do everything because he knew I'd come to his aid and that I would do almost all the work for him. Hmm, that Prat!

"I have pretty much everything arranged already," I told him quietly.

He gave me a faux-hurt look, "What? I haven't gotten an invitation yet!"

I broke down and gave my first genuine laugh of the conversation too. "Who says you'll be invited?" I said playing along.

"Well I am your oldest, nicest, funniest, and best looking friend," he answered as if it should have been obvious.

I laughed again, he had no idea just how right he was about that statement. To me he was everything he said and more . . . I quickly shook my head to stop my thought process. If I kept dwelling on stuff like that, I was going to go back into 'awkward teenager' mode, and I didn't want that. It wasn't something I was used to. I've dated boys before (lots of them) but I've never felt as awkward (or awkward at all actually) and, well, _girly_, around them as I act now when I'm around Teddy.

"Victoire?"

I turned around quickly (keeping my arms close to my body this time) and smiled brightly at the rather confused looking Kingsley Shacklebolt who had just walked through his office door.

"Kingsley!" I yelled as I jumped at him. If he weren't so solid, the force of my sudden embrace probably would have knocked him off his feet.

As it was, he just squeezed his arms tighter around me as he chuckled, "Hello Princess," he said using his pet name for me, "What are you doing here?"

I let go of him and stepped back a little so he could see my face, "Well, since you decided to break our lunch date for Diagon Alley, I decided to come and visit you here."

He smiled indulgently at me and rolled his eyes, "You charmed Harry and Ron to bring you into the office didn't you?"

"Yup, it wasn't very hard though."

He laughed lightly, "No probably not. Especially since they must have known that, I'd really enjoy seeing you. Which I do."

I beamed.

Kingsley glanced up and saw Teddy, "Oh, Ted, there you are. Auror McKenny says that he needs you back in Concealment and Disguise. Something about a new batch of fist level trainees coming in and needing you for another demo."

Concealment and Disguise, that must be why Teddy's wearing normal clothes, he's been helping the first level trainees and showing of his _metamorphmagus _talents. Teddy nodded at Kingsley, gave me a smile that made my heart race, and then said good-bye before exiting the room. Closing the door tightly behind him to ensure our privacy.

"So what's new with-" Kingsley stopped in the middle of his sentence. He had walked over to his desk and had just noticed the destruction I'd caused there.

"Oh Kingsley! I'm so sorry about that. I was holding one of the pictures and then Teddy came into the office and said 'hi' and he startled me, and my hand swept around and I sent that sneakoscope flying into the wall. Teddy tried to fix it but none of the spells would work."

Kingsley smiled lightly, "That's because it can't be fixed by magic."

My eyes must have gotten as wide as dinner plates, "Oh my Merlin. I'm so sorry . . . I'll buy you a new one-"

Kingsley cut me off with a large hug, "It's alright Vic. It was an accident, besides you wouldn't be able to get me a new one because you can't get these in stores. It was special order, but that doesn't matter. I didn't like it anyway. It had these gilded edges see, and they hurt when you held it."

Kingsley continued to ramble on as he tried to make me feel better about breaking his sneakoscope, but I still felt a little guilty. Once he stopped, he directed me to one of the chairs in from of his desk and we had a nice long chat. It was exactly what I wanted; a chance to catch up with my godfather. But in the back of my mind for our visit, and for the rest of the day, was an image of the last smile Teddy gave me before he left Kingsley's office. It had been warm and affectionate.

As I though over the smile a new thought popped into my mind. As soon as it came in, I tried to dispel it though. Because I was more than likely seeing things . . . after all, the emotion I saw in Teddy's intense eyes as he smiled at me couldn't have been _love _. . . could it?

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_**Hope you liked! Review if you wish ;)**_


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